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Characterization and functional properties of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seed protein isolates and salt assisted protein concentrates

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Abstract

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seed meal contains significant amount of extractable protein which can be used as nutritional and functional ingredients in food formulations. Alkali (0.1 M) and NaCl (0.5 M) were used to prepare protein isolates and concentrates from the defatted watermelon seed meals. Protein isolates reported protein yield of 35.15–38.27% and protein content (79.05–83.79%) which was significantly (p≤0.05) higher than the protein concentrates. SDS-PAGE of protein isolates and concentrates showed major polypeptides in the range of 74.72–110.42 kDa. Also, in vitro pepsin digestibility showed that most of the proteins were readily digested within 30 min of hydrolysis. Amino acids were dominated by arginine, aspartic, and glutamic acid. DSC results indicated that protein concentrates had significantly (p≤0.05) higher denaturation temperatures than protein isolates. The functional properties of concentrates in terms of solubility and surface properties were better than respective isolates. The results indicated that NaCl extracted proteins had comparatively better functional properties but their yield is significantly lower than respective protein isolates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Food Packaging Technology, Technical University of Munich, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Ali Abas Wani & Preeti Singh

  2. Department of Food Science & Technology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, 143 005, India

    Ali Abas Wani & Dalbir Singh Sogi

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Panjab University Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India

    Uma Shankar Shivhare

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  1. Ali Abas Wani
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  2. Dalbir Singh Sogi
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  3. Preeti Singh
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  4. Uma Shankar Shivhare
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Correspondence to Ali Abas Wani.

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Wani, A.A., Sogi, D.S., Singh, P. et al. Characterization and functional properties of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seed protein isolates and salt assisted protein concentrates. Food Sci Biotechnol 20, 877 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-011-0122-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-011-0122-6

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